DISCLAIMER:: do not own. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.
A/N:: i know mayor regina has been very two steps forward and one step back throughout this story so far... there's going to be a little more resistance from storybrooke regina before we see any true progress, but i promise it's coming. i don't however promise that it's going to be enough progress to break the curse and/or save the other regina. you'll just have to wait and see for that. i love the banter between august and emma in this chapter, it's exactly how i talk with my roommate. thank you to all who continue to review and show interest in this story. it's a long journey and i appreciate all those who've stuck with me along the way. enjoy and review.
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-Chapter 35: A Glimpse Of How You Feel-
She didn't know why she was here so early. It was the stupidest idea she'd ever had, but she needed to get to work on this whole breaking of the curse fast. She pulled the trench coat, borrowed from her roommate's closet more tightly around her to ward off the chill in the air and came up the walk with purpose. She had seen Regina in an upstairs window as she'd pulled up. She knew the brunette was aware of her presence. She didn't even have to knock as the door opened just as she stopped before it.
"Miss Swan?" Regina raised an eyebrow. Since it was only a few minutes after six, she was still in her silk negligee, covered by a matching robe, loosely tied.
Emma pushed into the foyer, gripping the door and closing it behind her. She grabbed the tie on her coat and pulled, letting it fall open. Blue lace was all that separated Regina's eyes from the entirety of Emma Swan.
"Back for more then? Didn't you learn your lesson last night?" Her tone was admonishing even as her hands reached for the lacy barrier of Emma's bra. Her fingers grazed over it and then her hand reach down and snatched up Emma's. "Very well Miss Swan." She led the blonde towards the stairs.
When they were in the safety of the upstairs bedroom, Regina's whole demeanor changed. She grabbed the jacket and nearly ripped it as she shoved it off. She did rip the blue lace covering Emma's breasts in her haste to pull it from the blonde's body. She tossed it aside as if it were nothing. Her lips hungrily sought purchase on Emma's neck. She backed the blonde over to the bed they had already marked as their territory, dropping herself onto it and pulling Emma down into her lap.
"Do you want me Miss Swan?" Regina's mouth descended onto an already erect nipple, causing Emma to emit a low moan, always mindful of controlling her volume with Henry in the house, and she nodded. "Tell me you want me." When Emma didn't immediately respond, Regina bit down on her nipple with almost enough force to break the skin.
Emma let out a hiss, lost somewhere between pain and pleasure. "I want you."
"Are you wet for me?" Regina's tongue soothed the sore flesh before she moved to its twin.
Emma bit her bottom lip as she pushed her chest out and further into the mayor's mouth. "So wet."
Regina smirked against her skin. "Good girl."
Emma fought through the dizzying effects of the brunette's mouth on her skin to grip the tie of the robe and flick it open. She pushed the silk from the mayor's shoulders. She ground herself down on the mayor's lap, not caring how wanton she appeared to be.
Regina slid her hand down the blonde's torso and beneath the lace, groaning against the skin beneath her mouth when she felt exactly how wet Emma truly was. "Miss Swan…" She detached her mouth from the sensitive flesh of her breasts to look at her, her eyes darkened with desire.
"Please Regina…" She wasn't sure what she was pleading for. Was it just to have the skillful fingers that were stroking through her wetness dip inside of her? Or was she begging for Regina to actually feel this, to feel something? Maybe she was pleading for both. But Regina was only willing to concede to one.
She pressed two fingers into Emma's dripping entrance, thrusting at almost an excruciatingly slow pace.
Emma ground down on the fingers, moving her hips rapidly to get the friction she needed, but then Regina's free hand wrapped around her waist, stilling her movements.
"I want to feel you for a moment."
If not for that arm around her waist, Emma was quite sure she would have toppled right off Regina's lap in shock. What had she just said? She stilled and let Regina continue to softly stroke inside her, feeling fingertips drag down her walls every time she pulled out. Regina was… exploring her. Her heart pounded at the thought and though, just moments before, she had begged to be fucked harder, she found she was getting just as much from this gentle exploration. She laid her head down on Regina's shoulder.
Regina acknowledged Emma's cooperation by rubbing her thumb across her clit. It took longer than usual but the blonde still came undone in her arms and this time she was in a better position to appreciate it than she normally found herself when they were in bed together. If she allowed kissing of the mouth, she supposed she'd kiss Emma Swan right now, but she didn't, so she found herself placing a soft kiss to the blonde's shoulder blade as she came down from her high.
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"What's the special occasion?" Graham eyed the box of pastries in the crook of her arm and the two coffees, one in each hand.
She set one down in front of him, tilting her arm just enough for the box of baked goods to slide easily onto his desk. She set down her own coffee so she could open the box. She looked at him, seeing the Huntsman writhing on the bed as he held her hand. "You're a good guy Graham."
He raised an eyebrow. "Uh… thank you?"
She rolled her eyes and swatted him on the arm. "You've been a really great friend, and all the help you've given me with Regina… you're a really decent guy." She grabbed a fresh bear claw from the box, popping it into her mouth and taking a bite.
He stared at her suspiciously as he grabbed a cinnamon bun from the box (he'd learned better than to go for the bear claws unless one was specifically offered to him). "You got laid, didn't you?"
Emma rolled her eyes and turned to head out her desk. "Yes, actually I did."
He chuckled. "Women. I told you flowers are your guy's thing."
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"You are so whipped." August sat at the counter and watched as Emma negotiated the hand mixer, trying to put the arms into the machine. He frowned as she jabbed one of the arms into the hole, looking frustrated as it didn't perfectly slide in. "Would you like help with that?"
Emma glared at him murderously. "No!" She finally got both sides in and locked down. She placed it in the bowl and pressed the speed button up to Low. Nothing happened. "What now?" She growled as she checked to make sure she'd secured the arms.
August held up the power cord, still unplugged.
She snatched it from his hand. "I knew that!"
He rolled his eyes. "Sure ya did, Betty Crocker."
Emma plugged the small appliance in, screaming as the arms, now out of the mixture, lurched to life. She quickly put them back in the bowl.
"So, first flowers and now you're cooking for her? Try again and tell me why you're not whipped…"
Emma frowned. "First of all, I'm not cooking for her. Kitchens and me have a complicated history and I'm not suicidal." She eyed the stove pointedly as if expecting it to spontaneously catch fire. "I'm baking for her… and it's not even for her, it's for Henry. He was sick yesterday and he still wasn't one hundred percent when I dropped him off at school this morning. I thought I'd try and do something nice and motherly to cheer him up. Mothers bake, right?"
"Right… You really expect me to believe this is all for Henry? Makes sense seeing as he's the one with an obvious thing for apples..." August rolled his eyes to show he wasn't fooled for a second.
She turned off the mixer and glared at him. "What does it matter if I am baking for her? What do you care?"
He held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm just pointing out that you're over the moon for Mayor Mills."
"Am not!"
"You're so in love with her, you might as well have 'Property of Regina Mills' tattooed on your ass."
Emma had to fight off the urge to dump her batter over his head. Instead she turned and poured the concoction into the baking dish, scraping the bowl to get all the batter out. Then she poured the caramel apple concoction over the top of the batter. She opened the preheated oven and stuck the dish in, setting the timer and closing the door with a relieved sigh and a prayer that it would at least turn out halfway decent. She turned back to August, who was smirking at her. Screw him! I do not have Property of Regina Mills tattooed on my ass!... I wonder what a tattoo like that would cost? The skin's pretty thin there; it would probably hurt. Oh God… I'm so whipped!
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Emma stared down at the dish in her hands. Yet again, it occurred to her that this would almost surely backfire. Regina hadn't invited her to dinner this evening. But if the woman didn't want her to stay she'd just leave the dessert, which had blessedly come out perfectly, and run for the hills with her tail between her legs. What else could she do? She had to tread carefully now that the Fate of the Enchanted Forest rested on making things work with Mayor Mills.
She raised her hand and knocked on the door. It didn't take long for the brunette to appear.
"You're late Miss Swan."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "I am?"
Regina sighed. "Yes. I called and left a message on your cell to be here at six."
Emma frowned. "I must have left my phone in my desk at the station."
"Yes well, better late than never I suppose." She frowned disapprovingly. "Are you going to come in or would you rather stand out there all night?"
Emma sighed and entered the house. This night would certainly be interesting.
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"Is Henry asleep?" Regina looked up at Emma standing in the doorway from where she was perched at the edge of the bed, slowly rolling her stocking down her leg.
Emma nodded and came into the room, shutting the door. She crossed to the bed and fell to her knees on the floor in front of the brunette. She swatted the mayor's hand away and continued to roll the stocking down herself. Once it was off, she kissed her way from the brunette's foot all the way back up to the hem of her skirt on her thigh. She reached for the other side and repeated the process. As she stood, she grasped the mayor's hands and brought her up with her. She unbuttoned the woman's shirt, untucking it from her skirt and pushing it off her shoulders. She grabbed the zipper on the side of her skirt and drew it down, pushing the fabric down her legs until she could step out of it. She set that next to the shirt and stockings. She reached around the brunette and unclasped her bra, hooking her fingers through the straps at her shoulders and drawing them down her arms. She set that article of clothing with the others. She grabbed the barely there nightgown Regina had already brought out, drawing it down over her head and body. She smoothed the fabric down as soon as she was done, looking into unreadable brown eyes. "If I tried to touch you… would you let me?"
Regina seemed like she was internally debating the topic. Finally she shook her head.
Emma nodded, taking a step back. "It's okay… we'll get there." She smiled. "I'll be back in the morning to take Henry to school." She turned to go. A hand caught her arm, stopping her. She turned back to find the mayor staring at her intently.
"Will you come early for breakfast?"
Emma nodded. "If you want me to."
Regina gave a nod.
Emma smiled. "I'll see you and Henry at six thirty then."
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Emma stared down at the dish in her hands. There wasn't much left, Caramel Apple Cobbler had gone over very well at dinner, especially with her son, but she had made a promise.
August opened the door.
She held up the dish. "I brought you the leftovers, as promised."
He raised an eyebrow. "You could have just put it in some tupperware and brought it by tomorrow. It's almost eleven."
Emma rolled her eyes and pushed in past him, holding up two forks with a flourish. "Then we wouldn't be able to share."
He chuckled and closed the door.
She sat cross-legged on the bed and put the dish down in front of her. She held a fork out to him, digging in with her own after he'd taken it from her.
"Hey, save some for me Killer." He sat down on the other side of the dish and dug in.
For twenty minutes, they silently binged on Emma's, surprisingly awesome, dessert. Finally they were staring at an empty dish. They tossed their forks in and August set the empty dish on the bedside table.
"I thought you'd be wrapped up in Madam Mayor's bed sheets at this hour."
Emma sighed. "No."
"Trouble in paradise?" He leaned back against the pillows.
Emma shrugged. She crawled to the other side of the bed and laid down on her stomach.
His playful expression turned to one of genuine concern. "What is it?"
"I met Rumpelstiltskin in the other world. He told me that the prophecy leaves us stranded here after my twenty eighth birthday. The Enchanted Forest will… I don't know, just disappear I guess. I didn't ask for the gruesome details."
He frowned. "I thought you said it was your choice."
"Up until yesterday that's what I believed. But I was wrong."
"And you were going to choose the Enchanted Forest?"
Emma nodded, looking at him apologetically.
He took a moment to process the information. "Is that why you've been going so hardcore at the mayor?"
Emma bit her bottom lip and nodded. "If I can break 'the curse' and reunite everyone's souls with their other halves in the Enchanted Forest, then maybe I might be able to save them."
"And if you can't?"
Emma shook her head, tears stinging her eyes. "I can't even think about it. There is no other option. I just have to find some way to get through to the mayor. I have to. There's no other way."
He sighed. "Well I'm not sure what I could possibly do to help, but I'll do whatever I can."
She gave him a small smile. "Thank you."
He nodded. He stood, crossing to the dresser. He opened the top drawer and tossed her a clean pair of boxers.
She looked at the design. "Superman, really? Everyone who's anyone knows it's all about Batman."
He looked affronted. "He has super strength!"
Emma sat up. "He's an alien! At least Bruce Wayne is human! And, I mean, the man wears red underwear, on the outside of his suit, come on."
They spent the next half hour on the age old debate of Superman vs. Batman. By the end Emma had beaten him into submission, and exhausted, he traded the traitorous Superman boxers for a pair with the Pillsbury Doughboy on them. She kicked off her jeans and slid into the boxers, curling up on her side of the bed.
August slid into the other side. He flipped out the light.
For a long time they were both silent. Then…
"Hey Emma?"
"Hmm?"
"It's going to be okay, I promise."